WVC 16-15-3
§16-15-3. City and county housing authorities created; when to
transact business or exercise powers; determination

of need for housing authority; resolution of

governing body proof of establishment;

appointment, term, expenses and removal of

commissioners.
(a) In each city and in each county there is hereby created a
housing authority which shall be a public body corporate and
politic. No authority hereby created shall transact any business
or exercise its powers hereunder until or unless the governing body
of the city or the county, by proper resolution, determines that
there is need for an authority: Provided, That nothing contained
herein shall be construed as creating an additional housing
authority in a city where a housing authority has been created
pursuant to prior law, but each housing authority shall continue as
a public body corporate and politic and shall have the area of
operation defined in section one of this article for a city or
county housing authority. Each housing authority created pursuant
to this section shall adopt a name for all legal and operating
purposes.

(b) The determination as to whether or not there is a need for
an authority: (1) May be made by the governing body on its own
motion; or (2) shall be made by the governing body upon the filing
of a petition signed by twenty-five residents of the city or county
asserting that there is need for an authority to function in the city or county and requesting that the governing body so declare.
The governing body shall adopt a resolution declaring that there is
need for a housing authority in the city or county if it finds:
(1) That unsanitary or unsafe inhabited dwellings exist in the city
or county; or (2) that there is a shortage of safe or sanitary
dwellings in the city or county available to persons of low or
moderate income at rental rates or purchase prices they can afford.
In determining whether dwellings are unsafe or unsanitary the
governing body may take into consideration the degree of
overcrowding, the percentage of land coverage, the light, air,
space and access available to the inhabitants of the dwellings, the
size and arrangement of the rooms, the sanitary facilities, and the
extent to which conditions exist in the dwellings which endanger
life or property by fire or other cause.

(c) In any suit, action or proceeding involving the validity
or enforcement of or relating to any contract of the authority, the
authority shall be conclusively deemed to have become established
and authorized to transact business and exercise its powers
hereunder upon proof of the adoption of a resolution by the
governing body declaring the need for the authority. An adopted
resolution shall be deemed sufficient if it declares that there is
need for an authority and finds in substantially the foregoing
terms (no further detail being necessary) that either or both of
the above-enumerated conditions exist. A copy of a resolution duly
certified by the clerk shall be admissible in evidence in any suit, action or proceeding.

(d) When the governing body of a city adopts a resolution as
aforesaid, it shall promptly notify the mayor of the adoption.
Upon receiving the notice, the mayor shall appoint five persons as
commissioners of the authority created for the city. When the
governing body of a county adopts a resolution as aforesaid, it
shall appoint five persons as commissioners of the authority
created for the county. The commissioners who are first appointed
shall be designated to serve for terms of one, two, three, four and
five years, respectively, from the date of their appointment.
Thereafter commissioners shall be appointed for a term of office of
five years, except that all vacancies shall be filled for the
unexpired term. No commissioner of an authority may be an officer
or employee of the city or county for which the authority is
created. A commissioner shall hold office until his or her
successor has been appointed and has qualified, unless sooner
removed according to this article. A certificate of the
appointment or reappointment of any commissioner shall be filed
with the clerk and shall be conclusive evidence of the due and
proper appointment of a commissioner. A commissioner shall receive
no compensation for his or her services, but he or she shall be
entitled to the necessary expenses, including traveling expenses,
incurred in the discharge of his or her duties.

(e) For inefficiency or neglect of duty or misconduct in
office, a commissioner of an authority may be removed by the mayor or by the county commission. A commissioner shall be removed only
after being given a copy of the charges and notice of a hearing.
The charges shall be sent to the commissioner at least ten days
prior to the hearing and shall notify the commissioner that he or
she has an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel. In the
event of the removal of any commissioner, a record of the
proceedings, together with the charges and findings thereon, shall
be filed in the office of the clerk. The powers of each authority
shall be vested in its commissioners.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
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